At Any Cost

Jeffrey Siger's books excel in always avoiding the repetitive in plot, and At Any Cost is no exception. His knowledge of and affection for Greece are always paramount in every book he writes although this one is a bit different because it adds the subject of the metaverse to heighten the reader's interest. The brilliant Jack and his fiancee Anna are added to the mix of characters which includes all the familiar people we appreciate in every Siger book. Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis and his entertaining and savvy side-kicks in the office, his lovely, aristocratic wife, Lila, and the setting of the island Syros complete the comprehensive plot and setting. As an inveterate philhellene, I look forward with great interest to every new Siger book, and I am never disappointed.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Severn House, for my complimentary digital copy for review purposes.

Once again Jeffrey Siger has written a book about Greece that is very evocative of the countries traditions and he describes the beauty of the country and it's people with a love that shows that he has been living there on and off for so many years. The plot of his latest book involves an attempt by foreign nationals to exploit the countries advantages for financial reward. This is linked to a scheme of artificial intelligence that would make it necessary to install much infrastructure to provide much more terminals for electricity and to enhance the system.

The main characters that have to wrestle with this new storyline are Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, his longtime assistant Maggie and others. I found the police procedural story immensely gripping and fast moving and the pages just whizzed by. All the characters are richly described and full of life.

The plot with it's dramatic twists and turns often kept me reading far longer than I intended. I was completely transfixed and kept guessing until the final page. Extremely highly recommended.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of At any Cost, the thirteenth novel to feature Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldas of the Hellenic Police.

Andreas is tasked with discovering who was behind a series of suspicious wild fires over the summer and bringing the perpetrators to justice. He quickly hears rumours of organised arson for profit with high stakes and potential foreign government involvement with the aim of powering a high tech metaverse project.

I thoroughly enjoyed At Any Cost, which is a high tech thriller with political overtones. The main thing is the thriller bit with plenty of action and tension while the high tech concept is explained in simple enough, if terrifying language for a technophobe like me. The politics are more geopolitical and well known to anyone who reads the news, although the author puts quite a spin on it.

I was glued to the pages as Andreas runs a fast investigation with assistance from an unexpected source and continued obstruction from the deputy minister, who, much to my joy, gets his comeuppance in no uncertain terms. What he discovers is mind blowing to read, but on reflection seems like a simple and far from far fetched extrapolation of where the world is just now in tech terms. How he deals with it is exciting and gutsy. He is never unaware of the danger from his adversaries who want their project to succeed at any cost. The nuance lies in the difference between a strategic at any cost and a boots on the ground at any cost, added to by the all important plausible deniability and, at one point, diplomatic immunity. In terms of readability the novel has a bit of everything, excitement, drama, tension, high stake stand offs, fun, humorous dialogue and picturesque scenery.

I never read one of these novels without having the urge to visit. This time the setting is split between Athens and the island of Syros, which the author brings alive with his descriptions of the scenery and history. Maybe I’ll just wait for the Metaverse to take me, or maybe not.

At Any Cost is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sharing an ARC copy of this book.

I have to admit what drew me to this book was the setting in Syros. At Any Costs is the latest book in the Andreas Kaldis series. Readers already familiar with Siger's long running series of Greek based detective novels will be awaiting this latest crime thriller with relish.

As a reader unfamiliar with his past works I was pleasantly surprised with how accessible and easy to follow the characters were; from Inspector Kaldis and his wife, and a cast of characters central to the fast-paced storyline. From his niece Anna and her techie fiance, Inspector Tassos and the bad guys who seem to range from corrupt lawyers, rich investors and Russain technocrats. Its storyline and references are very culturally on-the-nose Greek and obviously uses a lot of tropes in world building that are mired in corrupt politics, payoffs and global greed. What I enjoyed was the contemporary commentary on the recent forest fires; the suspicions central to the plot are dark malevolent forces at play with arson and land investment, playing very much on many recent news articles and of course, local gossip.

The island of Syros as a setting neatly picks up these themes providing a backdrop between Athens and Mykonos (which I understand many of the novels are set, and the author resides). Inspector Kaldis investigates a criminal underbelly of AI and metaverse development on Syros with police comrade Tassos. It’s not overly complex as a plot and the technical aspects are simply drawn and embellished in helicopter chases, luxury yachts and Athenian social climbers. Although a minor role, the scenery and gossipy politics of Syros are well envisioned for readers familiar with the setting, and for those the island is unfamiliar work in a way that brings the landscape to life as we follow the investigation. Island landmarks like the shipyard, Ano Syros, Kini and the long running drama of Lazaretta, the crumbling former quarantine hospital all get weaved in. Although I had a minor criticism in Siger’s writing style is that he often squeezes in historical info about the setting mid-paragraph and in my humble opinion sits slightly awkwardly in between characters' thoughts and actions. But I guess he felt obliged to give details and local colour.

Overall a decent police procedural for those interested in Greek Island crime drama, of which I am sure Siger has plenty more to draw on.

There are several things I like about this book. It takes Greece's real problems and tries to resolve them. It also uses real places with their good and bad points.
Greece must have felt humiliated when the E.U. rejected their budget. When a money generating scheme is suggested to them, do they care that Chinese, Russian and a middle Eastern state are behind it and Greece's sovereignty could be compromised?
There have been forest fires that then allows the land to be sold to a Consortium. Special Crimes unit Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis based in Athens, is suspicious, however he doesn't have the expertise. Fate is about to provide him with answers. His sister's daughter Anna is living and studying in New York. His sister is not happy as Anna has become close to Jacob ( Jack ). His family are Greek but from the jewish side. Andreas's sister wants Anna to come home and marry a local man. Andreas urges caution. He contacts Anna to invite her and Jack to Athens. He learns that Jack specialises in th digital world, just what Andreas needs.
The island of Syros which is close to Athens and the mainland, is where the Consortium's activities are concentrated. Andreas's team are investigating three dead bodies which were found after the wildfires. The Athens special crimes team also need the resources of Tassos Stamatos who is the chief Homicide investigator of the Cycladic islands.
With Jack's help Andreas is understanding the serious situation, then Anna is kidnapped and Andreas is compromised.
Well written and very enjoyable. I look forward to reading the next book from this author. Recommended.

If you are a fan of Donna Leon’s Inspector Brunetti mysteries set in Venice then it is time to take a trip to Greece with Jeffrey Siger’s Inspector Andreas Kaldis. After a number of wildfires have erupted, Kaldis is tasked with discovering who is behind them. The destroyed lands are being bought up by a consortium that intends to create a super metaverse. As Kaldis is trying to make sense of what he has found, he is also confronted with a family crisis. His niece, who is studying in New York, has announced her engagement. Her mother opposes the engagement. The fiancé is Greek, but was raised in America. To appease his sister, Kaldis convinces his niece to return to Greece with her fiancé Jack to meet the family. Jack is a consultant who works with computers and is familiar with the metaverse and Kaldis asks for his help. He raises fears after explaining how virtual reality can be weaponied by introducing propaganda and indoctrinating its’ users. The consortium was organized by Russians, Chinese and a. Middle Eastern nation but the lawyer who is representing them is Greek. It is through the lawyer that Kaldis hopes to find a way to stop their plan. His actions bring him closer to a solution while also putting his family in danger.

Syros, the island where Kaldis’ friend Tassos is the Chief Homicide Investigator, is targeted for the consortium’s headquarters. From the whitewashed traditional homes and narrow medieval streets to the more modern areas developed for tourism, Siger’s love for Greece is obvious. In Athens he surrounds Kaldis with a team that is loyal to him and they work well together. He also gives the reader a look at Kaldis’ home life, where his wife Lila often uses her connections to Greek society to further his investigation. Jeffrey Siger’s series is a true treat, offering a look at the culture and foods of Greece as well as an excellent mystery. I would like to thank. NetGalley and Severn House for providing this book for my review.

I always look forward to a new Andreas Kaldis mystery from Jeffrey Siger. I can rely on him for a fast-paced thrill ride of a story steeped in the culture of ancient and present-day Greece. By the time of this, his thirteenth Kaldis novel, his characters had become part of my fictional family, and in At Any Cost, I became much better acquainted with Andreas' sister, Gavi, and her daughter, Anna.

Although the premise of building a mega-internet presence that could take over the digital world was a bit difficult for me to wrap my head around, I've come to trust this author's prescience. I just sank into the story and enjoyed the ride. While I did that, I was in for a pleasant surprise. Greek food has been mentioned here and there throughout the series, but in At Any Cost, the author took a page from Martin Walker's Bruno Chief of Police series and sat me down right in the middle of a Greek feast. Yum!

Story... check. Food... check. But what keeps me coming back for more are the characters. As I said before, Andreas Kaldis, his family, and his team have become part of my fictional family. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they take me in and make me feel welcome among them. I feel that I know them very well-- so much so that when a member of his family was in danger, I smiled and thought, "Those bad guys aren't going to know what hit them."

Even though you can pick this book up, not having read any of the others in the series, and not feel lost, it would be a shame to miss everything that has gone before. (The first book is Murder in Mykonos.) Now I find myself in the familiar position of being forced to wait for the next book. Ah well.

This is the first book I've read in the A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery series, but it can easily stand alone. Not sure why I missed the earlier books in this series, but had never heard of them. When I saw it was up to number thirteen I thought I had better check it out to see what I was missing.

Description:
Chief Inspector Kaldis is initially dismayed to be asked to investigate a series of suspicious forest fires that took place last summer. In Greece, forest fires are an inevitability, and he fears he and his team are being set up to take the political blame for this year's blazes.

He quickly becomes suspicious, though, that the forests were torched for profit - and for a project on a far grander scale than the usual low-level business corruption. There are whispers on the wind that shadowy foreign powers intend to establish a surreptitious mega-internet presence on the island of Syros, with the intent to weaponize the digital world to their own dark ends.

Can Kaldis and his team stop the hostile foreign takeover of the idyllic island - or will the rise of the metaverse set not just Greece, but the whole world, on fire?

With its gorgeous Greek locations, engaging characters and fast-paced plotting, this international crime series is a perfect pick for fans of Donna Leon, Louise Penny, Martin Walker and David Hewson.

My Thoughts:
This book was fast-paced and kept my attention. With a potential international disaster as the central theme it was engrossing and I was rooting for Inspector Andreas to prevent the scenario being set up. The Inspector had courage and determination in his favor, but the deck was stacked and it was very tense throughout the investigation. I found the exploration of the possible abuses of AI and the Metaverse fascinating. I loved the beautiful setting in Greece and I would love to go there some day and see it for myself. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys international intrigue and highly tense scenarios.

Thanks to Severn House through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I love Andreas Kaldis Mystery series as the novels always make me travel to different parts of Greece and the mystery are solid and gripping.
This is another good addition to this series and i thoroughly enjoyed the plot and catching up with the characters.
Well plotted, entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine